this morning not only did i find myself without coffee in my cupboard (oh the horror!), but also not much was in my fridge either. thankfully, made, the cafe and gift shop next door at the downtown women’s center has delicious coffee from groundwork, and helped me out with my daily caffeine fix. now i could think about food. i am working the next couple of days and only need a few things to tide me over until i am able to make it to one of the bigger markets this weekend. i just wasn’t going to make the trip all the way to the wednesday market in santa monica. while perusing twitter, sipping on my dirty chai latte, the downtown news tweeted that the pershing square market would be open today between 1130-2p. having never been, i thought this might hold me over for a couple of days, or at the very least, get me out on my trusty steed for a quick ride.

albeit small, it had a decent variety of produce stands, and the gama farms stand even had eggs. often these smaller markets have zero options as far as meat, dairy and eggs, so i was thrilled. in addition to a half dozen eggs, i picked up an onion and garlic. they also had potatoes, citrus, and honey.

the stand next to them had many different greens and herbs, potatoes, daikon radish, some squash, green beans, and even sugar cane.

i was also happy to see arnett farms, which i often hit at the hollywood farmers market, and has some of my favorite citrus fruit. i chose a couple satsuma mandarins, a blood orange and a cara cara orange. why not? it is cold and flu season.

total cost $12.50:

1 head of garlic, 1 red onion, 6 eggs: $3

1 bag of green beans, 1 bag of mixed salad greens: $4

1 bunch of carrots: $2

4 pieces of citrus fruit: $3.50

1 gallon of gas saved by biking: – $4

total price for my bounty: $8.50

getting out for some much needed fresh air and exercise: priceless.

in a pinch, your smaller local farmers market can be just what you need…get your vittles and save on fossil fuels to boot.